Last night, I was just about to complain to my husband about how badly I felt I was lurching while I was walking.
It wasn’t until I turned back to him that I realized I’d walked all the way across the room without my crutch. I’d just gotten up and walked. It was the first time, really, that I’d walked any distance without assistance since the operation.
Oops? Maybe there was a reason I was kind of lurching? Since I didn’t have anything to help support me?
This morning my balance is even better. I was able to walk around the kitchen without needing my crutch at all. We’re going to go out shopping this afternoon and get me a cane. It won’t be a cool cane, and it probably won’t contain a sword. Instead, it will be a functional, cheap cane because I don’t envision me needing it for very long.
My knee is very, very painful to the touch. The muscles are extremely stiff and tight. But the internal parts of my knee don’t hurt. Though I can force my knee to bend more and make it hurt, just stretching it feels good.
My physical therapist told me that the strength would come back naturally. What wouldn’t come back was the flexibility. I was going to have to work on that.
She appears to have been correct. My strength is returning. I’m just going to have to regularly stretch and work those muscles to get them to bend.
I won’t have my original flexibility back by the end of the month, no matter how much I work.
But by the end of the year, though…that’s a whole other matter.
I guess this morning is the first morning that I feel really good, and really encouraged, by the results I’ve had so far. It’s still going to be a lot of work. I have much more faith that I can get there, though.
The opioids continue to make thinking difficult. I can get in a few words, and do a little bit of work, here and there. Then I end up napping for a while. I had such plans for actually getting work done after the surgery. Not so much.
On the other hand, that is honestly one of the things that I’m going to miss–being able to lay down, close my eyes, and just fall asleep. Early this morning, about 3:30 AM, after the meds had all worn off, it was difficult to fall back asleep. As I didn’t have any pain, I wanted to wait until morning to take more meds. I’m glad I waited even though it was a good reminder of insomnia from before the surgery.
Oh – I had kind of stopped taking most of my supplements because I wasn’t eating the first week after surgery. Started back up again, and yes, the RALA continues to provide deep sleep. As soon as I restarted it, I got 2+ hours of deep sleep. As far as I understand, getting such good deep sleep from the ALA isn’t normal. But OMG it’s nice to have again, to feel really rested after a night’s sleep.
And I guess that’s it for me. I’m doing better, and it’s all going to be okay.